The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Car of the Day: RB-Powered Mustang

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Is this the perfect blend of American muscle and Japanese tuning?

By Justin Kaehler

Ever since the cars list of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was leaked, there has been only one car that people have been talking about: the RB engine-powered 1967 Mustang fastback. While we must say that it is a beautiful car, it is the only vehicle we can think of that managed to offend both import and domestic guys.

Those of you unfamiliar with this movie car probably don't understand what all the hubbub is about, so we'll tell ya. Domestic guys are pissed because this very clean and very classic 'Stang has been outfitted with a treasure trove of Japanese tuning parts. We're not just talking about a GReddy sticker here or an ARC intercooler there, we're talking about the fact that the people at Universal (the movie company behind the film) yanked out the pony car's beloved American powerplant and shoehorned a Japanese engine under the hood.

Import guys are pissed because the Japanese engine in question is the RB26DETT, also known as the engine found in the holy grail of all Japanese performance cars, the Nissan Skyline GT-R. Import guys feel that this engine is the pinnacle of uber high-tech Japanese engineering, and to throw it in a 40-year-old ill-handling relic is nothing short of sacrilege.

We say that both parties need to get over themselves and realize that it's just a movie car. RB26s will still live on in Skylines and most tricked-out '67 Mustangs will still have some sort of highly-modified pushrod V8. Though most internet forum dwellers will likely disagree with this statement, the sky won't start falling because of this American/Japanese hybrid's existence. In fact, this car was built so well, we wouldn't be surprised to see more of these USDM/JDM hybrids hitting the streets in the near future.

Anyway, let's start off with the engine -- the famed RB26DETT. Pulled from a 2001 R34 Skyline, this engine is a twin-turbocharged inline six that is said to put out 280 metric horsepower to the flywheel. However, experts agree that this number of 280 is only given due to the old "gentlemen's agreement" power cap that all Japanese car manufacturers agreed to a few years back. In reality, this engine likely puts out power numbers in the 320-330 horsepower range.

There are no off-the-shelf kits to make classic Mustangs ready for Skyline power, so a lot of custom fabrication work was done to make this set-up work. The few parts that could be bought include a Spearco intercooler, Be Cool radiator, GReddy exhaust manifold and a custom N1-style Magaflow exhaust. The RB26's fuel system remains stock, but it gets its gas from a trunk-mounted Fuel Safe fuel cell that sends the go juice to the engine via some Earl's stainless steel lines.

The Skyline GT-R is known for sending its power through all four wheels, however we all know that the Mustang is a rear-wheel drive car. So the wizards at Universal took a 5-speed manual transmission from a 1998 Skyline GT-S and bolted it to a Currie Enterprises 9-inch Ford rear end. This of course keeps the Mustang's drive wheels at the rear, which is very important when building a drift car. That said, we think it would be cool to see an all-wheel drive 'Stang...

This classic Mustang was designed to be a drift car, and drifting is especially punishing on a car's suspension system, so the 'Stangs suspension got a major overhaul. Global West supplied new upper and lower control arms, subframe connectors and some new coil over springs, while KYB provided a heavy duty set of shocks. The small stock Mustang rims were ditched in favor of some JDM-tight 19-inch Volk GT-7s. The rear wheels are a hefty 10 inches in width while the fronts are "only" 9-inches wide. These Volks are wrapped in Toyo Proxes T1Rs sized 245/35 ZR19 up front and 275/35 ZR19 in the rear. Hiding behind these coveted Japanese wheels sits a large-size Wilwood brake kit, with four pistons providing clamping force up front and 2 pistons putting the squeeze on the rear discs. How many more times can we say "front" and "rear"? We don't know, but we'll try to stop that now...

Looking at the pictures of this car's interior, it's easy to say that it looks... uh... crappy. There is no A/V system to speak of, and it really doesn't look that clean. However, there is quite a bit of cool stuff going on in the cockpit of this '67 Ford.

While the exterior of this Mustang gets a hefty dose of JDM-approved goodness, the interior is all classic American muscle. Year One supplied the factory replacement seats which, with the help of Diest seatbelts, keep the drivers securely in place during those long extended slides. Should the driver choose to take his or her eyes off the Flaming River steering wheel, he or she can learn about the state of the engine thanks to the Auto Meter gauges. Though the transmission of this 'Stang is all Japanese, it gets a taste of classic American gear selection thanks to the Hurst shifter. An extra custom handbrake lever was installed to aid in getting the pony car sideways.

As of this writing we (the IGN Cars staff) have yet to see the movie. But from what we hear, this is the car used in the climactic final "drift battle" in the movie or something. We do know that Universal wrecked a few of these cars, which is a shame as that Jack's Auto Body-applied green and white paint sure looked nice. Oh, and to all you kids worrying about the Skyline motor -- all the "crashed" Mustangs were equipped with a regular-old V6. The lone RB-powered car managed to walk away from the film unscathed.

Anyway, we're sure you don't want to hear us yammer on any more than we have to, so we'll take this opportunity to shut up. However, we must first remind you to go check out the film when it comes out June 16 so that you can see this ride slide for yourself. The movie is still a couple weeks away, so kill some time by checking out our Media Page for more pictures of this sweet 'Stang.